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Post by cowboycoalminer on Sept 15, 2014 19:33:23 GMT -6
I got one of these bad ass's coming in and I got to say I'm rather excited, and it's been a long time since I've been excited over a piece of gear. Any of you groovy dudes had experience with one?
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Post by jcoutu1 on Sept 15, 2014 19:46:37 GMT -6
I was impressed with some samples of the 500 series LaChappel preamp, so I imagine that the big brother is even better. Good luck with the purchase.
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Post by drbill on Sept 15, 2014 20:41:59 GMT -6
I had two of the original 583 500 series that was two spaces wide. I was assured that they were very close to the 992EG. They were great pre's no doubt, but I have a ton of great pre's and they left me kinda cold. I expected a lot more "tube mojo" than they delivered. They were nice, clean, transparent and.....eh, vanilla. I've got 48 channels of D&R in my console if I want transparent vanilla. I ended up selling them and getting a couple AML EZ1073's. For my uses I was wAAAAaaaaay happier with those. Nothing vanilla there. :-)
I'm sure you'll like the unit though. Super well built and the support is awesome.
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Post by Johnkenn on Sept 15, 2014 21:31:10 GMT -6
drbill have you found any tube 500 series anything that you thought imparted a nice flavor? Every tube piece I've used - which hasn't really been many - hasn't really impressed me. Although I haven't tried the LaChapelle 500 stuff - I know Sal really likes his.
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Post by drbill on Sept 15, 2014 23:48:31 GMT -6
John - the lachapelle is the only tube 500 series I've tried. I was expecting, or perhaps hoping, for something more along the line of a V72. I know....hope against hope, but that's what I was hoping for. It's a solid pre, but I can get where it takes me with a lot of other gear I already have.
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Post by cowboycoalminer on Sept 16, 2014 5:48:17 GMT -6
drbill yeah I understand they are very clean, practically impossible to distort with sky high headroom. That's actually what I'm hoping for on acoustic guitar with these. I do indeed have the AML 1073 as well and it's a good pre.
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Post by jcoutu1 on Sept 16, 2014 5:56:45 GMT -6
drbill yeah I understand they are very clean, practically impossible to distort with sky high headroom. That's actually what I'm hoping for on acoustic guitar with these. I do indeed have the AML 1073 as well and it's a good pre. The samples of the 500 that I heard were on acoustic guitar and they sounded great. Clarity and detail without sounding brittle. |
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Post by drbill on Sept 16, 2014 9:15:03 GMT -6
drbill yeah I understand they are very clean, practically impossible to distort with sky high headroom. That's actually what I'm hoping for on acoustic guitar with these. I do indeed have the AML 1073 as well and it's a good pre. You should be quite happy then. :-) Like I mentioned, I have lots of pre's in that category, and didn't really need another pair. |
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Post by lpedrum on Sept 16, 2014 9:17:11 GMT -6
drbill have you found any tube 500 series anything that you thought imparted a nice flavor? Every tube piece I've used - which hasn't really been many - hasn't really impressed me. Although I haven't tried the LaChapelle 500 stuff - I know Sal really likes his. Cranesong makes a 500 tube pre (and a compressor too), but very few folks seem to have bought it and it's real tough to find any feedback on it. |
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Post by jeromemason on Sept 16, 2014 11:04:52 GMT -6
I had two of the original 583 500 series that was two spaces wide. I was assured that they were very close to the 992EG. They were great pre's no doubt, but I have a ton of great pre's and they left me kinda cold. I expected a lot more "tube mojo" than they delivered. They were nice, clean, transparent and.....eh, vanilla. I've got 48 channels of D&R in my console if I want transparent vanilla. I ended up selling them and getting a couple AML EZ1073's. For my uses I was wAAAAaaaaay happier with those. Nothing vanilla there. :-) I'm sure you'll like the unit though. Super well built and the support is awesome. I wonder if there is a trimmer to adjust the bias so the tube would saturate more? Obviously buying a pre that cost's that kind of money it's a little risky messing with their specs, but, if it's a good pre, just not much harmonic content it seems by heating her up it would definitely do something. |
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Post by cowboycoalminer on Sept 18, 2014 14:33:15 GMT -6
Well boys, the verdict is in. This is an absolutely gorgeous sounding amplifier. Couldn't be more pleased with this purchase. Tried it on some harmony vocals today and that particular mic has never sounded better. I'll have more to report after trying it on come SDC's.
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Post by lpedrum on Sept 19, 2014 9:27:31 GMT -6
Well boys, the verdict is in. This is an absolutely gorgeous sounding amplifier. Couldn't be more pleased with this purchase. Tried it on some harmony vocals today and that particular mic has never sounded better. I'll have more to report after trying it on come SDC's. Good to hear! It's interesting that when the topic of tube pres comes up we all think saturation or overdrive, like it'll be the microphone equivalent of an old tweed Deluxe. But engineer friends that have had much more experience than I with tube pres often go to them for clarity and hi fidelity, not saturation mojo. I'm pondering a 500 tube pre purchase myself and wonder how you would describe the sound of your LaChappel compared to a Neve or API type pre. |
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Post by matt on Sept 19, 2014 9:46:24 GMT -6
I nearly bought a used 992 but hesitated because there was no way to try, then buy. All of the info I could find online was positive, though - the box has a stellar reputation amongst its user community. Congrats!
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Post by cowboycoalminer on Sept 19, 2014 10:03:58 GMT -6
Well boys, the verdict is in. This is an absolutely gorgeous sounding amplifier. Couldn't be more pleased with this purchase. Tried it on some harmony vocals today and that particular mic has never sounded better. I'll have more to report after trying it on come SDC's. Good to hear! It's interesting that when the topic of tube pres comes up we all think saturation or overdrive, like it'll be the microphone equivalent of an old tweed Deluxe. But engineer friends that have had much more experience than I with tube pres often go to them for clarity and hi fidelity, not saturation mojo. I'm pondering a 500 tube pre purchase myself and wonder how you would describe the sound of your LaChappel compared to a Neve or API type pre. The LaChappel sounds nothing like Neve or API. Both of those offer more saturation and are by nature faster because of the slew rate. I'm guessing the 992 has a faster slew rate than most tube pres though because it is fast as well, but offers no saturation that I can hear on higher output settings. It's high fi as anything I've heard including the Martech which I had for awhile. Crystalline sounding without being brittle. It's a perplexing box; one of which I'm just beginning to explore. I'm in love though because it's Taylor made for my style of music. It was either this or the Pueblo 2 channel. I'm pretty sure I made the right choice. |
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Post by drbill on Sept 19, 2014 12:39:35 GMT -6
I'd agree with CCM's description, although my only experience is with the 500 series version. Clean, transparent, fast for a tube pre - not as ballsy as a Neve, not as punchy as an API, softer and more transparent - or perhaps uncolored would be a better description. Natural / neutral sounding. More closely akin to an active coupled (non transformer based) high end chip based pre like a D&R than to a Neve or API. Hard to describe, but if those traits seem to interest you, I'd put it at the top of the list. High end clarity and natural-ness.
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Post by cowboycoalminer on Sept 19, 2014 21:20:37 GMT -6
Retracked the acoustic part on this tune using the 992. To me, it stands out in this mix as being the best part of it. Loving this thing.
https%3A//soundcloud.com/herb-music/other-side-of-town
BTW, MJB wrote this great tune.
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Post by Johnkenn on Sept 24, 2014 20:51:48 GMT -6
I think Scott LaChapelle is just right down the road from me here in Nashville. I've never actually used any of his stuff, but have always wanted to try it.
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Post by yotonic on Sept 24, 2014 21:12:49 GMT -6
Oh yeah that sounds awesome. Now that's where "hearing iron" comes from. Great guitar sound, and yeah unfortunately it sounds richer than the rest of the mix! Maybe you should track everything through it. LOL
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Post by cowboycoalminer on Sept 25, 2014 6:13:56 GMT -6
I think Scott LaChapelle is just right down the road from me here in Nashville. I've never actually used any of his stuff, but have always wanted to try it. I may be coming down next week. I'd like to meet him too. He in Brentwood or Franklin? |
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Post by Johnkenn on Sept 25, 2014 6:45:54 GMT -6
His address on the website says he's about 5 miles from me...Brentwood.
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Post by RicFoxx on Sept 25, 2014 6:51:52 GMT -6
Do you think the 500 series preamp would sound close to the 992?
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Post by cowboycoalminer on Sept 25, 2014 7:36:32 GMT -6
Here's one were I used the 992 on the vocals paired up with a TLM 49. Probably the best this mic has ever sounded here at my place. The saturation is coming from the Sta Level I used in the mix. The acoustics was through Joly Oktavas. db.tt/jP8tQQEz |
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Post by cowboycoalminer on Sept 25, 2014 7:44:38 GMT -6
Do you think the 500 series preamp would sound close to the 992? Can of worms here I know but my opinion is no. More power on the rails for rack gear. Sonically, the path is the same but in my experience, the extra juice makes a difference (in most cases). I could be way off though. I know the Heritage 1073 500 and the DMA sound slightly different. This is NOT to say the 500 stuff is inferior, just sometimes sounds a bit different. That's not always a bad thing. |
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Post by yotonic on Sept 25, 2014 19:52:55 GMT -6
Agreed, I'm not afraid to say it, 500 series gear is fun and sounds good, but it never sounds quite as good in my opinion as the same unit at full juice.
Your voice sounds a lot fuller and richer here than in your previous example. That's so important with this sort of material. Drums sound pretty full too.
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Post by cowboycoalminer on Oct 1, 2014 18:10:18 GMT -6
I finally got around to hooking this thing up to the patch bay. So I ran a mix through it this evening... holy shite. Instant butter. Less compression needed and just a much fuller mix. No line input so you really have to mind your levels but it's worth the extra work.
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